So I put the question to Louie Perez, who wrote the haunting and bittersweet tune with his longtime songwriting collaborator, David Hidalgo.

"It was a surprise cuz it wasn't pitched by my publishing peeps," Perez said in an e-mail. "[I] haven't heard it yet. I actually talked to him about a week ago -- [he was] asking if David and I were interested in being in the video. Apparently he's been a fan of our songs for a long time. What a huge compliment as well as a thrill to talk to him."

And what a boost if it sells even half of what "Raising Sand," Plant's multiplatinum, multiple Grammy-winning collaboration with Alison Krauss, did.

“Band of Joy,” which will be coproduced by Plant and Americana musician-songwriter-producer Buddy Miller, isn’t slated to surface until Sept. 14 -- about five weeks after Los Lobos' new album, "Tin Can Trust," hits the streets Aug. 3. In the meantime, here’s a scorching 1991 live version from one of the L.A. music scene’s finest. You can imagine where Plant might want to go with it.

-- Randy Lewis

Photo: Louie Perez. Credit: Bob Chamberin/Los Angeles Times

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